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At least 30 members of CLC met Saturday Morning for a combined Men’s and Women’s Breakfast/Bible study. The food was plentiful and the fellowship was fantastic!!

The saying goes “many hands make light the work” and we proved this true. In the spirit of the Advent season everyone grabbed a task and make quick work of carrying the decorations from the attic, putting up the tree, hanging the many wreaths, and placing the Chrismoms on the tree. In case you didn’t know – Chrismoms are Christmas tree decorations, all hand-made, some very intricate, depicting all the religious symbols of the church. I see them on the tree each year but never realized how beautiful they are untill I found a special place on the tree for each one.

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Over 70 Community Lutheran members attended a Congregational Meeting/Luncheon after worship on Sunday, November 20th. The agenda was to approve a Ministry Spending Plan for 2017 and Elect members to Church Council, Community Kids PreSchool and the Endowment Cmte. After calling the meeting to order with a prayer President Mike Turner invited Treasurer Ed Rogers to outline and briefly explain the Ministry Spending Plan for 2017. There were opportunities for questions and answers after which the 2017 Spending Plan was approved and elections were held with the results listed below. With Thanksgiving to God for our Mission and Ministries of “Welcoming Others, Growing in Grace and Sharing Christ’s Love” we sang the doxology and adjourned.

Congregational Meeting Update November 20th

Approved 2017 Spending Plan $669,000.00

Elected to Church Council:

Earthkeeping Alitia Cross

Fellowship Kristin Anderson

Technology Wayne Nielsen

Worship/Music Deb Tyler

Elected to CKCP Board

Jamie Hurd Angelina Michetti

Sara Gauldfeldt Jessica Williams

Elected to Endowment Cmte

Mike Kalas 3yrs, Betty O’ Lear 2yrs

Joe Imler 1yr, Peggy Deweese1yr

Linda Russ 3yr, Katrina Kloman 1yr

Rev. Joseph M. Vought, D.Min.

Senior Pastor, Community Lutheran Church

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“It was a historic blustery day……” No, it’s not a Winnie the Pooh Hundred Acre Woods story….but it DOES aptly describe Saturday, October 22, 2016 – the date of the first CKCP/CLC Children’s Health and Safety Fair! It was a bit chilly, and the winds were gusting to 35 mph! What was scheduled to be an outdoor event had to be brought inside for a majority of the exhibitors – good choice!

The idea for this fair was hatched after CKCP Director, Kim Byrum became certified as an official Children’s Car Seat Technician (yes, they do exist) through an organization known as Saving Loudoun’s Littles. This organization was actually founded in 2015 by two industrious Leesburg middle school students, Arianna Wright and Nicole Brinson, for a Girl Scout project! After learning that car seat inspections in Loudoun County had all but vanished, Kim decided to put together this fair in October – which also happens to be National Crime Prevention and Child Safety month!
Starting in mid-2016, Kim began rallying support from local businesses and CLC members for various donations of products and time to make the fair a success! Giant Food donated hot dogs, buns and all the fixings; Corner Bakery supplied the fair with delicious cookies; and CLC member Joan Heath provided the loan of an industrial-sized grill! WalMart and Home Depot supplied the coolers for storing the hot dogs and bottled water for the event!

Through the Community Action Project, Thrivent Financial approved three grants to defray the miscellaneous fees and costs of putting on such an event. And lastly, there were over 45 volunteers from CKCP and CLC who generously donated their time for set up, monitoring and take down tasks. Many of these volunteers were teens who received credit for their time toward school classes and projects! In fact, rumor has it that two of the teens actually volunteered to dress up as McGruff, the Crime Fighting Dog! Kudos to everyone who helped out!

The turnout for this very first Children’s Health and Safety Fair was hugely gratifying! Over 140 people came to take advantage of the information and services provided by the 18 vendors in attendance!

Thrivent also donated a 3-in-1 Car Seat, and each family in attendance was given a “passport” to the event for each vendor to signed off and enter into a raffle at the end of the fair! Congratulations to the Reed Family for being drawn as the winner of the car seat!

The vendors who also volunteered their time and information were varied and plentiful! Although forced inside due to the weather, the vendors happy to be warm and cozy and provided a wealth of information and resources to the attendees. There were representatives from the Sterling Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department; Loudoun Child Protective Services; Inner Power Yoga; INOVA Partnership for Healthier Kids, along with Safe Kids project and Trauma Roo!

Others included Face Painting by the founders of Saving Loudoun Littles; local author Cindy Chambers, who writes books for children (Beamer Book Series) dealing with health and safety; LCPS provided information on Safe Routes to School; and Reston Hospital Center conducted a Teddy Bear Clinic! Thrivent Financial offered information on their services; and, of course, CKCP and CLC offered information on their programs and services, such as Pre-school registration, Stephen Ministry and even an “appearance” of their Senior Pastor Joe Vought (who is on Sabbatical until the first week of November)!

For those vendors who braved the cold and wind outside there was a Mock Car Seat Demonstration from Ted Britt Auto on how to install car seats; a Loudoun County Sheriff and his cruiser for everyone to inspect, in addition to handing out Child Safety Kits and ID’s with McGruff, the Crime Fighting Dog! The Sterling Volunteer Fire Department provided a fire truck, which of course was a huge attraction to everyone young and old! Occasionally the truck had to leave and respond to a call, but it always came back to the cheers of onlookers!

Last, but certainly not least, was the volunteers from Saving Loudoun Littles – One Seat At a Time project to provide car seat inspections to people who had made an appointment. A total of 15 car seats were inspected (taking 30-35 for each inspection) during the course of the fair!

All in all, the first CKCP/CLC Children’s Health and Safety Fair was an unqualified success! We are grateful for the food donations, the vendors and the volunteers who made the day not only informative, but FUN for everyone!

The Grillmaster and Brewmeister was Andrew Wagliardo and there would be no Octoberfest without Andrew!!!The entire event would not have happened with out the hard work and successful leadership of Kristin Anderson , Margaret Selland and their team of wonderful assistants!!!

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Once a month except during the summer, the seniors at CLC get together the 1st Tuesday at Mimi’s Cafe and enjoy breakfast, fellowship and always an excellent program.

Marcia Richardson, Carol Lehman, and Fran Newman are instrumental in keeping everything moving along, from making name tags, birthday lists, prayers, speakers, sending emails and making sure we all have our breakfast ordered. Their efforts are appreciated by all that attend.

Today we had a wonderful speaker, Donna Fortier from Mobile Hope of Loudoun. Her presentation was factual and emotional. We now understand that there are so many at-risk, precariously housed and homeless youth in Loudoun County. These youth did not choose to be in these situations but placed there due to the actions or lack of actions by their parents or guardian. Some have no one responsible for them and they live in tents, cars or friends couches. They focus on the 17 to 24 year olds since they are in-between systems that can give them assistance.

They are always looking for donations and volunteers. See the link below for donations and for a signup genius to volunteer. They welcome families of all ages to volunteer as it is a great educational tool to be reminded of how much we have to be grateful for. http://www.mobilehopeloudoun.org

We were very excited when Peggy Dar presented Mobile Hope with hats, scarfs, blankets and quilts from our very own Stitchers and Quilters Groups from CLC. They were very thankful. Cold weather will be upon on soon and these are kids and young adults that spend a lot of time outdoors and will so appreciate warm hats, scarfs and blankets.

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On Sunday October 23rd, CLC was completely taken over by 32 eager and enthusiastic youth, hyped on donuts, and ready to “do it all” for Youth Sunday. We had cantors, homilists, ushers, organists, assisting ministers, soloists, communion servers, lectors, crucifers, greeters, acolytes and choir – all composed of youth! The homily, written by the youth who delivered it, mimicked a political debate – matching the pharisee against the tax collector to hear what they had to say. All of the youth did an amazing job, and had a lot of fun being in those leadership positions surrounded by their peers. I am incredibly proud of them, and I know I’m not alone in that. Thank you to all of our youth who served at Youth Sunday – you were truly a delight to behold. – Becca Shelor

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Have you thoughtfully considered how you and your family celebrate Advent? Is Advent something we celebrate only in church when we begin lighting the Advent wreath candles? What does Advent really mean?

About two years ago, the Adult Forum explored a series titled, “The Advent Conspiracy” (http://www.adventconspiracy.org/#four-tenets). This series discussed commercialism, consumerism, and how the true meaning of Advent and Christmas get lost and misappropriated in secular society. We seek to Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, and Love All. You may view short videos at:

On Rally Day, some of our youth asked Rally Day attendees three questions about what advent means to them.

1.) Do you have favorite Advent traditions?

The responses to question one included: advent calendars, putting ornaments on the tree, buying a Christmas tree, hiding a Christmas pickle, setting up the nativity scene, making a Bible chain and tearing off links, using an Advent box or Advent activity calendar, making wreaths, and singing special hymns.

2.) How do you prepare individually and/or with your family for Christ’s coming at Christmas?

Question two responses were similar, but also included: going to church, decorating for the holiday season, singing hymns and devotions, talking about Jesus’ birthday and the meaning of Advent, more family time, signing “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” and making crafts and cookies.

3.) What makes Advent and the Christmas season meaningful to you?

For many of us, the Advent and Christmas seasons are meaningful because we reflect on the spirit of Christmas through being with family, celebrating Jesus’ birth, taking time to be together.

As we move closer to the start of Advent, Community Lutheran Church will launch Finding Advent on Sunday, November 20, 2016. This coordinated effort involves all of the ministries of the church. All of our members and visitors are encouraged to take time out of our busy, over-scheduled lives and take time during Advent to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. Using the new activity packs, please spend a few minutes every day reflecting on a Bible verse and engaging in a related activity.

The Finding Advent activity packs will be available on November 22 to pick up at church. These are small boxes with a card that has a Bible verse on one side and a suggested activity on the other. Please use these to engage with family and friends in preparing for Advent.

We look forward to a reflective and meaningful Advent season. Please join us!

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A. A Worship Servant is a person like you who supports the worship service.

Q. How old do you have to be in order to serve as a Worship Servant?

A. Generally, Worship Servants start serving in the fourth grade, and carry on until they “retire.”

Q. Do I have to sing?

A. Only the vocal choirs have to sing.

Q. Can a family serve together as Worship Servants?

A. Yes. Greeters and Ushers are excellent roles for all members of a family to serve together on a Sunday.

Q. Do I have to wear a robe?

A. Only the choirs, Assisting Ministers, Crucifers and Acolytes wear robes. The robes signify our baptisms and being clothed in Christ.

Q. What is an Acolyte?

A. An Acolyte is a person like you who serves during the service by lighting the Altar Candles, serving communion, and accepting the offering.

Q. How can I serve if I can dedicate only a short time during the service?

A. Communion Servers and Readers are “on duty” for a short time during the service.

Q. I’m a behind-the-scenes person. What’s a good Worship Servant role for me?

A. Altar Guild does almost all of its work before and after the service. The Counters meet after the service.

Q. How often do Worship Servants serve?

A. Most Worship Servants serve once per month. Some less frequently. Counters serve all month, three times per year.

Q. I like to interact with people, how can I serve?

A. You might like to serve as an Usher or as a Greeter. Ushers welcome visitors and members alike, and guide the congregation through the service. Greeters greet visitors and members at the church door, and help visitors find the Welcome Desk.

Q. What’s the Welcome Desk?

A. Welcome Desk gives a special welcome to visitors, recording their visit, answering their questions about this church, and giving them a coffee mug as a gift.

Q. How many Worship Servants support any given service?

A. Nineteen. And that’s not counting the Choirs.

Q. I’m comfortable serving in front of a congregation. What’s a good Worship Servant role for me?

A. Crucifers, Acolytes and Assisting Ministers serve at the altar throughout the service.

Q. How can I serve? I like to speak publicly.

A. Assisting Ministers and Readers have speaking roles during the service.

Q. Do you have to be ordained to be an Assisting Minister?

A. No. An Assisting Minister is a Lay Person (non-clergy), who has the spiritual maturity and composure to help the Presiding Minister and to lead the congregation in prayer.

Q. Can I serve in several worship servant roles?

A. Yes. Many Worship Servants do. We ensure that you serve in all of your roles throughout the year.

Q. Is there training for Worship Servants?

A. Yes. There will be a Worship Servant Training Seminar at 9:30 am on October 16 in the church’s sanctuary. You can sign up in the Lobby, online at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c054da8aa2eabf85-worship, and through Sunday School, Confirmation and Youth Ministry. In addition, we can arrange one-on-one training.